Explanation:

Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq (1325 - 1351 AD):

Muhammad bin Tughlaq was the Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351. He was the eldest son of Ghiyas-ud-Din-Tughlaq, the founder of the Tughlaq dynasty. In 1321 and 1323. Visitors’ tales of Muhammad during his reign have depicted him as an “inhuman eccentric” with a weird personality; he is alleged to have given the order to murder all the residents of the Hindu city of Kannauj. He’s also renowned for making radical policy changes. After his father’s passing, Muhammad took the throne of Delhi. He was fluent in Persian, Hindavi Arabic, Sanskrit, and Turkish and had a keen interest in medicine. The well-known Moroccan lawyer and traveller Ibn Battuta visited his court while a guest wrote about his suzerainty in his book.

During the time of Muhammad bin Tughlaq Vijaynagar(1336) and Bahamani(1347) emerged.

His innovative experiments are as follows:

Token currency:

• Muhammad Tughlak orders his brass coins to pass for silver, A.D. 1330

• He introduced token currency or copper coins. His main aim was to save precious metals like gold and silver and introduce more money in circulation.

• For this reason copper coins were issued which had same value as silver tanka.
• But, Minting the copper coin was not retained as monopoly of government.
• The goldsmiths began to forge the token coins on a large scale. Soon the new coins were not accepted in the markets.
• Finally,the sultan stopped the circulation of token currency and promised to exchange silver coins for the copper coins. Many people exchanged the new coins but the treasury became empty.

Transfer of capital:

• To safeguard the capital from Mongol invasion and to have better control over south India, sultan decided to shift capital from Delhi to Devagiri(Daulatabad).
• He desired to shift the entire population. Barani says “ not a cat or a dag was left”.
• The reason for the move were very practical , but the method adopted was impractical.
• Entire population was made to travel around 1500km to Daulatabad.

1. Many people died during the rigorous journey in the summer. After two years, the Sultan abandoned Daulatabad and asked them to return to Delhi.

Increase in taxes:

• The area between Ganga Yamuna doab was very fertile, hence sultan decided to rise tax so as to enhance the revenues of his empire.
• Although it was practical decision the tax hike was too steep and introduced during a time of no rainfall.

Agricultural reforms:

• He launched a scheme by which takkavi loans (loans for cultivation) were given to the farmers to buy seed and to extend cultivation.
• A separate department for agriculture, Diwan- i- Kohi was established.

• To curb the rebellion of Taghi , Tughlaq entered into Sindh desert and died due to sunstroke at Thatta in 1351 AD.

Khurasan & Qarachil Expedition:

• In the early 14th century, the Delhi Sultanate under Muhammad bin Tughluq embarked on several military expeditions to secure its frontiers and resolve boundary disputes.
  • The Khurasan expedition aimed to establish more defensible frontiers in the west. However, this expedition did not materialize.
  • Qarachil expedition was an attempt to resolve a boundary dispute with neighboring hill states that were under Chinese influence.
    • However, this expedition ended in failure. Despite this setback, there was later diplomatic communication between China and Delhi.